On The Road Again
by HarmonyMarguerite
Summary: A comedy of errors about six adventures and their quest to save the world... But they really, really, don't wanna.
1. Enter Killex, the Holy Monk?

The children approached the center of the town where the woman sat on the edge of the fountain. She looked up as they approached, eyes crinkling in a smile before the color could truly be noted.

"Ms Elder, will you tell us a story?" One of the boys asked eagerly.

She smiled wider, braiding an end of her once black hair absently. "Yes." She said slowly. "I think I know of a story that I could tell you."

"What is it about?" A little girl climbed onto her lap and looked eagerly up.

"Why, Dali, of course."

"This town?" The children muttered, watching her in awe.

She nodded. "Indeed. It's about Dali, a monk named Killex, a Black Mage named Kilrianna, a bad man named Shuyin, and many others who joined them during this quest."

"Is it a long story?" One child spoke up.

She gave them an odd smile. "You could call it long, but I've heard some people call it too short. At least there is an ending. I like to call it a comedy of errors."

"A comedy of errors?"

"What other adventure could possibly begin with a Lawfully Good Monk who asks for monetary compensation for his services? Listen…"

* * *

The only thing that was of any value in the small town, Killex noted, was the cracked and moldy fountain in the center. Otherwise, the rest of the town was made of small huts that had been patched several times. It was a town screaming for help. At least, that was the thought that ran through the young monk's mind.

He found a young woman walking down the street and carrying a bag of laundry. "Excuse me Ma'am. Where does the village elder live?"

She briefly pointed to the end of the street, and continued on her way.

"Wait! Let me carry your basket for you." He smiled, and took the basket from her, walking alongside her.

"Why are you helping a stranger?" She asked, curious.

He smiled. "I'm a monk. I think that it's my job to help people, no matter how big the trouble or how small."

She smiled back at him. They arrived at the river that ran outside of town, but he missed her wary look across it. She turned back to him as she sat. "Let me tell you our story, since you seem to be of the helping sort. Perhaps you have a solution to our mess. You see, the Kings Army enjoys ransacking our town every month. They take any woman that has no shelter, and whatever food and goods we have. They destroy the town once a month."

"When will this army be returning?" He asked.

"In two weeks."

"Thank you for your help." He smiled and returned to town.

And stood in the middle, wondering where the hell he was supposed to go now.

Thankfully for him, a young boy was playing in the shadow of a hut, whom he stopped and asked where the elder's house was. The boy grinned at him, grabbing his hand, and dragging him to the largest hut on the street.

"Thank you." Killex smiled and entered the dark house. "Hello?"

"And who might you be?" A friendly voice came out of the darkness.

"My name is Killex. I am a traveling monk, and I've noticed that your village needs help. I would like to offer my services."

The lights rose.

There at a table in the center of the room was a smiling old man. "Welcome to Dali. I am Elder." If possible, he seemed to smile more. "You're lucky, young Killex. There are others who have expressed a desire to stop the army as well. I will pair you up with one. You will be staying at her place for a while." He called the boy inside, and whispered into his ear. The boy smiled, and walked out, grabbing Killex's hand as he left.

"Thank you!" Killex called as he was dragged out.

They walked for a while, until they came to a cabin at the outskirts of town. There, the boy knocked on the door. "Elenore!" He called. "Elenore! You're partner is here and Elder says you have to take care of him. Bye!" The boy gave a grin to Killex and ran away.

The door opened.

Killex looked up and felt his heart stop. There on the doorstep was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had long light brown hair that was in a loose ponytail showing black cat ears. Her green cat eyes blinked at him as a tail twitched behind her.

Elenore, for her part, was having a little difficulty getting her own heart to start. The young man on her steps stared up at her with beautiful blue eyes while his black hair fell to frame his face. His skin was a little lighter than hers, and she could barely make out a birthmark on his neck.

It was, apparently, love at first sight.

"Uh… Won't you come in?" She asked, moving aside and barely managing not to stumble.

He smiled charmingly at her and entered.

She showed him the bedroom where he placed his small pack. "So… why are you here?" She asked.

"I have asked the Elder if I might help you with the army."

"Oh. You're just the helping sort, aren't you?"

"I believe it is my ticket to Heaven. The more people I help, the better my chance of getting in."

"I see." She made a slight face.

"Which reminds me." He moved to the door. "I have to give the woman who helped me something."

Elenore followed him to the river where Killex searched the area with a confused look on his face. "I thought she was here…" He muttered.

There was a slight giggle from up in the trees. Both looked up. There, in the branches, was the young woman from earlier. "Hello again." She called.

Killex smiled at her, missing the growl Elenore sent his way. "I wanted to give you a reward for helping me earlier." He threw a small pouch into the tree. The woman caught it, looked inside briefly, and grinned.

"Ten gold pieces?" She said, and jumped out of the tree. "Thanks!" and she hugged him.

Elenore's fur rose and she growled again. After a moment of watching the woman cling to him, she turned and stalked away.

Killex noticed, and extracted himself from the woman's embrace, running after Elenore. The woman watched them, a grin on her face.

"Wait!" He called, running through the street.

She stopped and looked at him. "I have an idea. Give me three gold coins, and I'll get something to help you with the army. We'll meet back at my cabin, and you get dinner."

"Alright." he handed her the money, and walked back to the cabin.

* * *

In the woods, he found a deer, which was only somewhat difficult to kill. He stood, panting, over its dead body. "If this is a deer, I don't really want to face the army." He muttered, and dragged the deer to the cabin.

He built a fire-pit, along with a fire, and attempted to ignore the crowd that was steadily growing around him. The ignoring was successful until the heat of the fire got to him and he was forced to take off his shirt.

"Whoo hoo! Strip show!" Came a voice from the back of the crowd.

He looked up, but was unable to pinpoint the speaker. However, he did manage to catch an eyeful of cleavage. Then he looked up. A pale, black haired woman smiled at him, green eyes sparkling.

"Hello." She said, bending over to speak to him. "Did you need any help?"

"Whore!" Came the same voice as before.

The woman looked insulted. "Bite me, Kilrianna."

"No thanks, Lulu. You're not exactly my type."

Killex dragged his eyes away from the large chest of, er… Lulu, and to the new girl that was breaking through the crowd. She grinned at him, her face not having lost all of its childhood roundness. Her black hair was pulled into a knot on her head, and she cocked her head at him, red-brown eyes regarding him solemnly, despite the smile her face held. On her neck was an old scar that ran from ear to ear as if someone has once tried to slit her throat.

"You should be very careful when you accept help from Lulu. You never know what trouble you'll get into next."

"Look wench," Lulu seethed at her. "I'm your mistress, and I say you shouldn't speak unless I tell you to."

"Go ahead. Say it. Doesn't mean I'll listen."

"I'll stop teaching you."

"I'll find someone better."

Before the argument could continue, Killex was hit on the head by what felt like a large stick.

Kilrianna blinked at him. "Wow, dude. Wow."

He turned around to see Elenore glaring at him. "I bought you a weapon." She glared, and then stomped back into the house. Killex watched her go, then quickly cut some meat off the deer, grabbed the weapon Elenore had gotten him, and ran inside.

"Someone's sleeping on the couch tonight." Kilrianna snickered. She looked at Lulu, then at the crowd of people who were eyeing the deer hungrily. She picked up the knife Killex had dropped, cut of a large piece, and then ran out of the circle. When she was a safe distance away, she yelled back; "Soup's on!"

The crown descended on the meat, Lulu still trapped in the middle.

Snickering, Kilrianna walked away.

* * *

Inside the cabin, Killex placed the meat on the table, and approached Elenore, who was lying on a bed.

"Elenore? Nori, I'm sorry. I was only talking to them. Please forgive me for whatever I did."

Elenore sighed and rolled over. "I honestly shouldn't be this jealous. I don't know what came over me, but I feel this connection to you."

"I feel it to. I know I could trust you with anything. I think I love you. Please don't be made at me."

She smiled, and sat up. "I think I love you too."

* * *

The next day, Killex awoke to an empty house. After getting dressed, he walked out of the house to see Elenore talking to Lulu and Kilrianna a small distance from the cabin. As he approached them, Elenore's eyes flew open wide and she gestured to the women, who fell silent.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Not much." Elenore smiled. "We were just talking about…"

"What a lovely day it is." Kilrianna smiled, perfectly at ease with her lie.

"What were you talking about?" Killex demanded.

Kilrianna's eyes flew open wide, and the beginning of a tear could be seen. "What do you mean? We were discussing the beauty of the blue sky and the lovely sound of the birds as they sing."

Lulu, whose hand had been covering her mouth, finally broke. "WeweretalkingaboutShuyinandwhatweshoulddowhenhecomes."

"Thanks Lulu." Kilrianna glared, all innocence forgotten.

Elenore glared as well. "It's nothing to really concern you, Killex. We'll let you know when we come up with something solid."

"Whose Shuyin?" Killex looked confused.

"A fuckhead!" Kilrianna shouted, punching a tree.

Lulu rolled her eyes. "He leads the King's Army."

"And he's a fuckhead." Elenore added.

Killex blinked at them. "I feel the love." He said, dryly. "I'll be back in a bit, I have to speak to the Elder."

The women turned back to their conversation.

Killex barged into the Elder's house. "Elder! I need to speak to you about something."

The Elder smiled, not even seeming startled at the intrusion. "Yes?"

"I have needs, you know. I would like to have some sort of compensation for my services. A monk can't live on air, you know."

The Elder raised an eyebrow. "A monk asking for compensation? We are a poor village, Killex. We don't have much."

"I don't charge much."

"I can only give you 20 gold. That is all I have."

"It'll be enough. Now, I'll start to train the village."

The Elder smiled. "There is no need for that."

"What?"

"Just watch when the Army comes in two weeks. Everything will be clear to you then. All you have to do is watch. I have a plan for Shuyin."

"Fine." Killex stood to leave, but before he could, the door flew open.

Kilrianna stood there, chest heaving. She had obviously run from the cabin in her corset and long dress. "Mr. Elder Daddy!" She said, moving into the room. "Did I leave my thingy here?"

"You're thingy?"

"Yeah." She made a few weird hand gestures. "You know, my thingy with the thingy-ness? That I use to do… you know."

"Ah yes. It's in the bedroom."

"Thanks!" She flew into the other room and quickly came out with her pockets full of… something. She gave the Elder a kiss on the forehead and ran out.

Killex blinked. "You… understood that?"

The Elder smiled. "Of course. She's been living here for almost four years now, and I consider her a daughter to me. She's…. slightly hyperactive."

"I… see…" Killex stared at the disappearing cloud of dust that marked where the young woman ran. "This is going to be an interesting battle."


	2. Shuyin's Arrival

2 weeks later

The town was slowly awoken by the sound of horses in the fields. Kilrianna and Lulu looked out their hut window and saw rows of tents being set up.

A knock came on the door.

Lulu opened it and ushered Elenore inside. The three women stared as one figure could be seen walking down the street.

Outside of town, Killex stood in the trees and watched as a tall blond man entered the town. He had gold armor on and was incredibly handsome. Killex could even see the glint of his blue eyes from where he stood.

The cry of "fuckhead!" rang through the street.

Inside the hut, Kilrianna stared out the window with wide eyes as her hands flew up to cover her mouth. The other two stared at her in horror.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled through her hands. "I have a big mouth."

"No shit." Elenore said. "And it's about to get us killed. Thanks Kilrianna." She looked out the window as the blond haired man changed direction and headed towards Lulu's. "Crap! He'll recognize me!"

"Me too!" Kilrianna said, almost in a panic. She looked around wildly. "Quick Nori, under the bed!"

The two flew under the bed, followed by Lulu, who hovered over them worriedly. "What do I do?" She asked in a whisper.

"Answer the door!" Elenore and Kilrianna said.

There was a knock on the door.

Lulu opened it. "Can I help you?" She paused a moment to get a good look at the man, and to control the drool that threatened to fall out of her mouth. "Ah, you're Shuyin, right?"

He blinked at her, dragging his gaze back to her face from where it had rested at her chest. "Yes. And you are?"

"Lulu. A pleasure to meet you. I'm new in town."

"Apparently." He looked around the room. "Did you shout something a few moments ago?"

"Me? No, no. Why would I shout something out?"

"I thought I heard something…" He stepped into the room.

Kilrianna and Elenore stopped breathing simultaneously.

Lulu got a good view of the armor Shuyin wore. Her eyes flew open wide as she realized that it was made of gold scales. Gold dragon scales.

"Um… Shuyin?"

"What?" He turned to her with a frown.

"Where did you get that armor?"

He stared at her for a moment, then smiled. It was a creepy sight. "This old thing? I just killed a dragon. It was in my way, and then I realized that a Gold Dragon has the hardest scales of any. It would be the best armor around. So I killed it." He stepped forward, and grabbed Lulu by the hair, turning her so that he could see her back. His smile grew as he got a glimpse of the gold scales running down her back. "Upset? Afraid I killed a family member?"

He laughed.

Elenore couldn't take it anymore and ran out from under the bed, pulling out her scythe. She hit Shuyin in the back, actually managing to put a dent in his armor.

Shuyin dropped Lulu and turned to her. "Why you little bitch!" He moved towards her as she backed up. Suddenly he stopped, all anger gone. "Wait a moment. I remember you." His smile grew lecherous, and he reached out to grab her.

A fire spell hit him in the chest and forced him back a step. He glared at the two women, neither of whom had cast it. With a snarl, he moved to the bed, and flung it backwards. Kilrianna looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Oops?" She said.

He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up to face him. With a pained gasp, she held onto his hand as she dangled in midair. "I remember you as well." With his free hand he trailed his fingers across her throat, following the scar. "I thought I let you live to get better. Is a little fire spell all you have? Three years, and that's all you learned? It would be best for you to die now, don't you think?"

He pulled his hand back, readying a spell in it. Kilrianna closed her eyes, ready to die, but a voice from outside interrupted.

"Shuyin!" The Elder's voice rang through the small house.

Shuyin stopped, dropped Kilrianna and went outside, ignoring the women who stared after him in shock.

Elenore came to her senses first. "Move!" She cried, helping Kilrianna stand. The three ran out the back door as the house suddenly burst into flames. They moved around the building to see the Elder in the middle of the street gazing calmly at Shuyin. In the distance, they could see Killex running towards the Elder.

"Was that necessary, Shuyin?" The Elder asked calmly.

"They were annoying." Shuyin replied. "And now, I'll kill you."

"Before you do," the Elder said, not fazed in the slightest. "I have a deal to make with you."

Shuyin stopped. "A deal?"

"A deal for this town. You see, this young man," The Elder indicated Killex who had just arrived. "Has volunteered his services to save this town. I would like to give him that opportunity. Therefore, give this man a task. A task so dangerous, that you would not do it yourself, nor waist any of your men on it. In return for this task, you will spare this village."

Shuyin paused in thought, then a smile grew over his face. "There is a weapon I have heard of. It can control Heaven or Hell depending on the person wielding it. I want that weapon that they call the Apocalypse. Give it to me, in 31 days, or this town will be erased off the map. If I get it, I'll leave and never appear in this town again."

"Fair enough. What do you say, Killex?"

Killex looked sadly at the house where he last saw Elenore. "I suppose it's alright."

"Now, you're going to need some help, no? Ladies?"

Kilrianna was the first to make it next to the Elder. "I'll go, Mr. Elder-Daddy."

Elenore was right behind her. "Count me in too."

Reluctantly, Lulu moved to join the others in the street. "I suppose I should go. It's not like I have a place to stay anymore."

"Try to sound a little less enthusiastic." Kilrianna rolled her eyes.

"You survived!" Killex cried, hugging Elenore.

"You people are worse than roaches." Shuyin said. "Very well. It's a deal. Get me the Apocalypse and you'll have your town."

They watched him walk back to where his camp was set up, and no one moved until the last soldier was out of sight.

"We can't trust him." Kilrianna said.

"I know." The Elder smiled at her. "But we have no other choice. Trust me, child. Everything will work out. Now, my children. You should get a good nights rest before you leave in the morning."

"That would be great, except that I DON'T HAVE A HOUSE!" Lulu cried.

"You can stay at my place." Elenore sighed. "There is enough room."

"And Kilrianna can come back to her old home." The Elder said, pulling his 'daughter' close. "I would like to share one last meal with you before you leave, little one."

"We'll see you in the morning, Kilrianna." Killex said as they left.


	3. Day 1, Killex, meet wilderness

When Kilrianna woke up, she almost tripped over the travel bag that was left by her bed. The Elder raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry. I wanted you to find it."

She blinked at him, not awake yet, and looked down at the bag. It was packed with a few of the usual things for travel, some food, rope, extra clothing, while lying on top was necklace. She moved her hand over it, and quickly pulled it back.

"It's a magic amulet." The Elder explained. "It will help you focus your magic and make it stronger."

"Oh." She moved to the bathroom to change, the necklace clutched in one hand.

Since she had no actual travel outfits, her dress was a simple brown with a corset underneath and only two underskirts. The amulet hung just above the low cut. When she came out of the bathroom, Kilrianna gave The Elder a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"Thank you." She said.

"Be careful my child." He said.

She gave him a wink and a smile as she put on her pack. "Always." and she walked out.

Elenore, Killex and Lulu were already waiting in the street; each had a pack that matched hers. The Elder had been busy in the middle of the night, giving everyone a gift. Lulu had a new doll to focus her magic through, Elenore had a new chain to go on her scythe, while Killex clutched a map in one hand.

"Shall we?" Elenore asked.

"Where are we going?" Kilrianna asked.

Elenore pointed to the map. "I thought that we should start in the largest city on the continent, Asgaroth. Perhaps someone there has heard a rumor of the sword, or there is some type of information out there. It should take us all day to get there."

"Sounds like a good plan to me. Alright map lady, lead the way." Kilrianna grinned.

"I thought I was supposed to be the leader." Killex said, as they walked out of town.

"Sure." Kilrianna said. "Go ahead, lead."

Killex took the lead, and therefore he was the one who spotted the danger first. "Uh oh." He muttered.

"Uh oh what?" Elenore asked, but couldn't get very far as Killex had already cast protect over the three women.

"What's going on?" Kilrianna stood on her tiptoes to see over Elenore's shoulder. "Oh."

Before them stood an eight foot tall Griffin, who was looking at them with a slightly hungry glint in its eye.

"Five minuets out of town and we get into a fight!" Lulu giggled happily. "Now lets see, Griffins are earth elements, which means we defeat them with fire! I think. Or was it air? Maybe water…"

Kilrianna stared at her in horror. "I can't believe I wanted to be apprenticed to you."

"Good Griffin." They heard Killex say. He was walking towards the Griffin with his hand outstretched to try and pet it. "Nice, pretty griffin."

"Please tell me he's not doing what I think he's doing." Kilrianna whispered to Elenore.

Elenore couldn't reply, her mouth open in a mix of horror and shock.

Killex reached up to pet the griffin. The griffin reared up, and bit his left hand off.

There was a moment as Killex stared at the stump of where his hand used to be before he recovered himself enough to try and punch the griffin in retaliation.

The griffin bit his right arm off.

Killex stared in shock before grabbing his fallen arm in his teeth and running back behind the protection barrier.

Kilrianna fell to her knees and held his arm up. "Aren't you a monk? Can't you cure yourself? Try to at least somewhat reattach it! Lulu, attack the griffin with water. Elenore, hand me some bandages, will you?"

The others raced to do as she commanded, Lulu sufficiently getting the Griffin wet.

"Um… I don't think the water attack hurt it, Kilrianna. I think it just made it angry."

"Good." Kilrianna said as she held Killex's arm in place while he healed it back on. "Now attack it with blizzard."

"Why…? Oh!" Lulu hit it with blizzard and a moment later there was a sparkling griffin statue standing before them.

"Elenore, break it." Kilrianna said, wrapping a bandage around the arm.

"Gladly." Elenore growled, and hit the griffin with her scythe, shattering it into a million little griffin pieces. She came back and held out a blue tinted hand. "I think this is yours."

Kilrianna took it and held it against Killex's open wound. "Need a hand?" She asked.

The three women died laughing while Killex looked offended. "I don't think it's very funny." He said while he healed his hand back on.

Kilrianna managed to calm herself enough that she put a bandage on the wrist. "We need to get him to a healers guild. This will hold for now, but shock will

set in soon, and they should really look at this attachment so that there's no permanent damage."

"Yeah." Elenore calmed herself as Killex fainted. "Ah, that would be shock."

Another Griffin peered around a tree. It looked at its friend laying in ice cubes on the ground, then at the three women who glared at it.

"Brock?" It asked.

Elenore moved forward before anyone could react and dug her claws into its neck. "You're going to give us a ride to Asgaroth. Congratulations."

The griffin nodded.

* * *

With the nice griffin's help, they were able to make it to Asgaroth by lunchtime. They landed in front of the gates, both city guards staring at them. One, realizing that three women and an unconscious monk arriving at the city on a griffin was not a usual thing, ran inside to tell someone.

Elenore jumped off the griffin so that Kilrianna could pass Killex to her. Then Kilrianna and Lulu jumped off. The griffin ran away in fear.

"Excuse me." Kilrianna smiled sweetly at the guard. "We need to go to the healers guild. Our friend had his arm and hand bitten off by a griffin during our travels. May we enter?"

"I should go warn them." The guard said, and ran inside to the healer's guild.

This left no one guarding the gate.

The three women looked at each other, shrugged, and entered the city.

They stared.

"Well." Kilrianna said. "Anyone have any clue where we should go?"

From where they stood, streets stretched out far in front of them in a tangled web. They couldn't see any signs, or anyone who was a healer.

"Guess we have to wander until we find something." Elenore said.

Kilrianna shrugged and moved in a direction, not really looking where she was going. She bumped into something and fell to the ground with a small cry.

"I'm sorry." She heard a deep voice say. "I wasn't paying attention." The man that she bumped into knelt beside her.

She shook her head to clear it. "I wasn't paying attention either." She said and looked up.

The crimson eyes that she looked into flew open wide when he fully saw her face, and she thought he gasped. He had black hair that was tied in the back in a small ponytail. The man was tall, dark, and utterly, breathtakingly, handsome.

"My name is Vincent." He said, in a velvety voice as wonderful as his looks.

"I'm Kilrianna." She smiled a little weakly and melted into a puddle of happy goo. After a moment of staring at his face, she managed to recover. "Say, are you from here?"

"Not really, but I've lived here long enough that I know where everything is."

"Cool. You see, our friend had a really bad run in with a griffin, and we need to go to the healer's guild. Could you show us where it is?" She tried to stand, but discovered her legs had yet to return to a solid state.

"I would be glad to." He noticed her difficulty with standing, and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Just follow me."

Kilrianna blinked at Elenore over Vincent's shoulder. "I… can walk… eventually…"

"I'm sure, but you seem a little weak on your feet."

She sighed, and resigned herself to being carried, and looking down at the wonderful view it offered her. Then she noticed the sword at his waist. "Hey, do you know how to use a sword?"

"Of course." He sounded a little confused.

"So, what can you do with the sword?"

"It's actually not a sword, it's a rapier. And I can do basic fencing techniques. Why do you want to know?"

"Is this the Guild?" Elenore asked suddenly.

Kilrianna realized that they had stopped in front of a tall building that screamed Healer's Guild. Almost literally too, there was a large sign on the side.

"Yes." Vincent nodded and led her in.

The receptionist smiled at them. "How can I help you?" She asked Kilrianna.

"I'm not hurt." Kilrianna informed her. "He just seems to want to baby me. However, our friend over there had a little accident with a griffin and got his hand and arm bitten off. Can you help him?"

The nurse made a noise that sounded a little like a sneeze. "Yes." She said, voice strained. "I'm sure that there is something we can do for him."

Vincent had put Kilrianna down to snicker into his hand. "Just out of curiosity, how did he get his hand and arm bitten off?"

Elenore rolled her eyes. "Where can I put him?"

A couple of healers brought out a bed and were putting Killex on it as Kilrianna explained what happened.

"He tried to pet a wild griffin and it bit his hand off. Then he got mad and punched it with his remaining hand. That's how he lost the arm."

Elenore couldn't help it, and snickered again. Vincent also lost the fight to keep a straight face. Thanks to their professional training, the healers were all able to not laugh, though a few were coughing suspiciously into their hands.

"He'll be okay in two days." A healer said.

"Thank you." Kilrianna said. "Nori, are you going to be staying here with stupid boy?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I'll go explore the town. I'll be back tomorrow morning to check up on you."

"Thank you." Elenore sighed and sat in the waiting room. Vincent paused next to her, putting a piece of paper in her hand. She looked at it and nodded. He followed Kilrianna.

* * *

Kilrianna walked out of the guild and sighed and she looked at the huge city. She had no clue where to begin looking for anything.

"You know," a voice came from behind her and startling her. "It is rather late in the day to begin exploring. Perhaps you should start tomorrow."

She turned to see Vincent looking down at her. "Yeah. Do you know where the inn is?"

"Actually, I have a better idea. Follow me."

She shrugged and followed as he walked back through the streets they had just passed. Now that she had the time and wasn't worrying about Killex, she took in the sights of the city.

In front of the gates to the city was a large circular road with a fountain in it. Opposite of the gates was a large church, by far the most noticeable and imposing building in the city. To either side of the church were what seemed like shops and other small businesses. Vincent led her past the shops and into the more residential area of the city. Slowly the quality of the houses diminished until all she could see were run down buildings. At the end of the road was a small run down church.

Vincent walked up to the church and opened the door, turning on the lights.

Kilrianna gasped.

What used to be the main service room had the pews removed and was no turned into a dinning room, living room and kitchen. The alter at the end of the room was still in place, and showed signs of hard work and care to keep it as beautiful as it was.

The whole place reeked of hard work and care.

"It's not much, but I call it home." He gave her an odd lip twitch of a smile.

"This is amazing." She said, looking around.

He blushed lightly. "Thank you. Come on in, I have plenty of room for you to stay here if you wish, at least until your friend gets better."

"Are you sure?" She turned to him, a concerned look on her face. "I don't want to impose on you or anything."

He looked at her, and odd glint in his eyes. "No, you wouldn't be imposing at all. I would love to have you here. In fact, will you join me for dinner?"

"I would be delighted to."

She helped him make a fairly simple meal and sat down at the table across from him. He even let her have a glass of wine.

"Are you even old enough to drink?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm nineteen."

"What is a child doing traveling alone?"

"I'm not a child. And, I'm not alone, Killex, Elenore and Lulu are with me." She paused a moment to stare thoughtfully into space. "I wonder where Lulu is? Oh well, like I said, I'm not alone."

"Elenore seems like a sensible young lady, but Killex?"

"I'm hoping he'll get better. We need a good leader."

"Why are you traveling?"

She looked at him for a moment, then decided that she could trust him. "We want to defeat the King's Army so he'll leave our town alone."

"That's a fairly noble cause." He remarked. "But won't that mean you have to defeat the leader of the army?"

"Shuyin. Yes."

"You've met?"

Her hand went to her neck, briefly touching the scar that ran across her throat. "A few times. Do you know him?"

Vincent's eyes got a far away look in them. "Yes. He's my brother."

She blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. We're twins, but we went on our own paths when we were 16. I became a monk, and Shuyin joined the King's Army. When we met again three years later, he had changed. But then again, I suppose so had I. We fought."

"I'm sorry."

"Things happen. What about you? What did he do to you?"

She sighed, grinning wryly. "Actually, what he did was my own fault. I was young and more of an idiot than I am now. I challenged him when I was 16, and lost horribly."

"Did he do that?" Vincent gestured to her neck.

She half smiled, more laughing at herself than anything. "Yeah. It's my punishment for daring to challenge him. He decided to gracefully let me live, but gave me this."

He stared in shock. "That had to have been done very carefully. You could have died."

"He probably would have enjoyed that."

"Probably."

They were both silent for a few moments, finishing the last of dinner.

"By the way, why did you ask about my rapier earlier?"

"Oh that!" She brightened. "I want to learn how to use it."

"What?"

"I want to learn how to use a sword. So will you teach me?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"So I can defeat your asshole of a brother, duh."

He stared at her. "You are an odd person." He sat back and studied her. After a moment, he spoke. "Alright. I'm not much of a teacher, but I'll give it a shot."

"Yay!" She jumped up. "What do we start with?"

He blinked at her, looking at her skirts. "How about with clothing?"

"What's wrong with this?"

"You can't move quickly enough with those things on. And this-" he pointed to her corset. "Forget it. In a real fight, you'd be dead in a second. Follow me."

She followed him down a hall and into what looked like his bedroom. He rummaged in a closet for a few moments before throwing a few articles of clothing on the bed.

"Change into those." He left the room.

Kilrianna walked over to the bed and sat, picking up a piece of clothing.

And stared at it.

And stared.

And stared some more.

"How do I put this on?" She asked herself.

There was a knock on the door. "I know it doesn't take that long to change. What are you doing in there?" Vincent called through the door.

"Umm… What are these?"

The door slowly creaked open and Vincent stood there, glaring at her. "What?"

"I've never worn these before, I'm not quite sure…"

"Oh for the love of…" He grabbed them out of her hands. "These go on your legs, this is the top. You'll need to put this belt on, or the pants will fall off. Got it?"

She nodded. "All good!"

"Alright. Change." He walked out again.

More confident now, she took off her dress, standing there in her corset and petticoats. After a few moments of trying, she realized the tie to the corset was just out of her reach.

"Damn it!"

"What's wrong now?" Vincent just opened the door.

She faced him, arm covering the top half of her corset. "I can almost never get these damned things undone."

"Turn around."

"What?"

"Turn around."

She gave him an odd look, but after a moment, she put her back to him. There was silence, then she heard his rapier leave its sheath, followed by the sound of it going through the air. It was back in the sheath before she realized what he had cut.

Her corset fell off.

"Get dressed." He said, and shut the door after him.

"Eep?" She said to no one in particular, but got dressed.

When she finally emerged from the bedroom, he stood near the alter, having cleared a large space for them to train in. He handed her a rapier.

"Now, do you know how to use this?"

"Sure! Pointy end goes in the other guy."

Vincent twitched. "Almost." With a sigh, he grabbed her hands, adjusting her grip. The first time, she was a little distracted by him being so close, but after getting yelled at, she stared to pay attention.

It was actually fairly easy to get the footwork down and a few of the basic moves. By the end of the second hour, she almost got a hit on him.

He smiled at her. "You're a natural student. You've done a good job. I'll teach you more tomorrow."

"Cool." She pouted a little. "I suppose that means your sending me to bed?"

"Yes." He took the sword belt from her. "You can have my bedroom."

"Are you sure? I don't want-"

"I know. You don't want to impose. You're horribly polite sometimes, you know that, Rianna? Go to bed."

"Alright." She turned to leave, hopefully before he could see the blush that stained her cheeks at the nickname.

She was so tired, she forgot to take her boots off, and was asleep when she hit the pillow.

Vincent sighed when he saw her. He seemed to do that a lot around this strange child. He took her boots off.

As soon as he was done covering Kilrianna in the sheets, there was a knock on the door.

"What?" He said, opening it.

The black haired woman on the other side looked a little frightened of him. "Um, my name is Lulu. Elenore sent me here. She gave me this map, and said Kilrianna was here."

"Oh. You're the missing friend she mentioned. Yes, Rianna's here. Come on in. There's a guest bedroom in the back."

"Oh thank you!" Lulu entered, looking like she had been through hell. "I'm exhausted."

He showed her to the bedroom, and then entered a third room.

"I don't know if I should join them." He said to no one. "The group seems to be leading more to a comedy of errors than a true group of heroes or adventurers. Then again..." He looked towards the bedroom Kilrianna was in. "I wonder if she would..."


	4. Day 1, Where did Lulu go?

The children blinked at the woman.

"But… where had Lulu gone all day?" A small boy asked. She disappeared a long time ago."

She snickered. "Listen close and I'll tell you. This is how Lulu became a wanted person in the city of Asgaroth."

* * *

Lulu entered the city of Asgaroth, easily following Elenore and Kilrianna. She even drooled briefly over the hot guy Kilrianna had bumped into. However, once they started following him to the Guild, a butterfly flew into view distracting her. She followed the path of the pretty butterfly until it disappeared behind someone's head. When she turned around, the others had vanished from her sight.

Confused and lost, Lulu wandered around the main street near the church. After a moment, she found a weapon shop, and went in, hoping to find a cool sword or something.

There was a smiling man behind the counter and another elderly customer in the corner.

"Can I help you?" The man asked.

"I'm just looking." Lulu smiled back.

She was looking at the short swords when the only other person in the room approached her. It was the elderly man who was in the corner earlier.

"Do you have the money to buy anything?" He whispered in her ear.

"Um… no. All the money we have is with my friend."

"I know where you can get the money."

Lulu's eyes lit up. "Really? Where?"

"Follow me." He grinned and led her out of the shop. In the street he pointed at the church. "In there, in the basement is supposedly the greatest treasure in the whole world. Not even the King's riches match what that church holds."

Lulu blinked large, greedy eyes. "Tell me more."

"I can tell you how to get there, if you just bring me back some. After all, I am but an old man. My body is too weak to enter and carry the treasure. But you are young and beautiful. Surly you can get it."

"You think I'm beautiful?" Lulu asked, hearts and stars appearing in her eyes.

"Will you bring me some of the treasure?" The man asked.

"Of course!"

The man stepped closer to her, whispering the directions in her ear. Lulu nodded eagerly at each step, anxious to get inside and start what she thought would be the greatest adventure of her life. And it would make her rich.

Parting, Lulu easily slipped inside the church, following the man's directions beyond the main service room and into the hall where the alter boys bedrooms were. At the end of the long hall was a wooden door. Eagerly, Lulu reached for the handle and turned it.

It was locked.

"Damn!" Lulu swore.

A door at the end opened. She ducked into a recessed doorway, hidden in the shadows, until a young boy left the hall.

Then, she had a sudden thought. She pointed at the door.

"Fire!"

The door burst into flames, extinguishing itself on the stone that surrounded the flame.

Lulu ran through, regardless of the fact that she left a large gaping whole in the wall that was bound to be noticed.

Didn't that old man tell her something about making sure no one noticed her?

Oh well.

She ran down a flight of stairs, and entered through another door. This one she locked behind her before turning around to look at the new room.

Before her were rows of jail cells. At least four on each side, though each cell was huge so it was hard to tell.

And they were filled with people.

Most of them were laying on the ground, too weak to move. They were of all ages, children, elderly, young men and women in their prime, everyone. Some looked like they had been there for a long time, others looked new, and still had a haunting, frightened look on their faces.

A man approached the bars near Lulu. "Are you from the Church?"

"No. I'm a Black Mage!" Lulu smiled.

The man looked hopeful. "A Black Mage? Then you might be able to get us out of here."

"Well… why are you here?"

"We've opposed the Church. We didn't agree with the sacrifices that the Church demanded, the sacrifices of human life. Because of that, we were imprisoned, and some of us our families as well. Now we are the ones to be sacrificed."

"That sucks." Lulu commented.

Just then, a rattling was heard at the door. "It's locked." A male voice came. "Go get the key, will you? The person should be this way."

The man pressed against the bars. "If you cast lightning at the locks, they should fall open. Quickly!"

"Um…" Lulu looked between the man and the door, where some helpless guard was still rattling the handle. "Sorry, but I really have to go."

And she ran out of the room.

* * *

"She did what?" One of the children interrupted the story incredulously.

"She left the people there." The woman smiled sadly.

"Why?"

"I suppose she thought that there wasn't enough time, now that the guards had discovered someone infiltrating the Church. You see, this is a very powerful, very bloodthirsty Church, and they hated people seeing what went on behind the scenes. This particular one controlled Asgaroth."

"So Lulu ran?"

"Indeed. Through many passages that ran under the Church, until she came upon a room full of coffins. In this room, the Church performed a ceremony where they mummified their prisoners."

"That's horrible."

"Yes it is. However, this isn't the story of how that Church fell. Needless to say, the Guards caught up to Lulu in this room…"

* * *

Lulu stood, back against a wall and faced a row of four guards.

They charged.

With a small squeak, Lulu ducked out of the way and the four men crashed _through_ the wall she was standing against. They lay on the ground, dazed. Lulu walked over them and ran down the newly revealed passage.

It was very dark, but Lulu couldn't take the risk of making a small fire for light.

The ground son switched from dirt to… something rather crunchy. It sounded like she was walking on bones.

She bumped into something.

That growled at her.

She was so shocked, she couldn't understand what was said, though a small part of her brain, the part that was logical, whispered that it was dragon.

"Pardon?" She choked out.

She felt something sniffing her. The… dragon, she assumed, said something else. The only thing she got out of it was the word food.

"I'm not food." She replied.

"Duh." Was the extent of the dragon's reply.

"I'll get you food if you let me pass."

The Dragon thought for a moment, then shifted, allowing her space to walk past.

Lulu did so, and ran out into the open air. The dragon followed her. In the sunlight, it was obvious that this was a green dragon, who was still staring at her.

"I'll bring you food tomorrow." Lulu promised.

The dragon muttered a reply, something not very favorable and amounted to… "You'd better or I'll fly into the city tomorrow to find you and kill you."

Lulu ran away.

Luckily for her, there was still no one at the gate, so she was able to run through and into the city. She kept running until she actually ran into a building. Looking up, she saw the sign that proclaimed it to be the Healer's Guild. Sighing in relief, she went inside.

There in the waiting room was Elenore, reading a magazine.

"Elenore!" She cried, running up.

Elenore looked up and frowned. "Where have you been all day? Wait," she held up a hand. "I really don't want to know. Look, the Guild is being nice enough to let me stay here for the night, but no one else is allowed to. You're going to have to go somewhere."

"But where? I don't have any money."

"Kilrianna ran into someone earlier…"

"Oh yeah, that incredibly hot guy."

Elenore rolled her eyes. "Yes, him. Anyway, he's letting Kilrianna stay at his place for the night, and he offered me a place too if the Guild wouldn't let me stay. Here's the map to his house. Think you can follow it?"

"Oh yes. Don't worry. I'll see you later!"

* * *

Lulu followed the map back through the town. The only incident was when she came upon a couple of guards. Thankfully, she was in the shadows so they didn't see her.

"This woman," one guard was saying as he handed the other a piece of paper. "Broke into the Church this afternoon. You are to kill her on sight."

The other guard nodded, and pasted the paper on a pole. When they had gone, Lulu approached and looked at it.

There was her face staring back at her.

She ran the rest of the way.

Flinging herself at the door, she pounded on it, praying that they would let her in.

A tall man answered, glaring at her with red eyes. "What?"

"Um, my name is Lulu. Elenore sent me here. She gave me this map, and said Kilrianna was here."

"Oh. You're the missing friend she mentioned. Yes, Rianna's here. Come on in. There's a guest bedroom in the back."

"Oh thank you!" Lulu entered. "I'm exhausted."

He showed her to the bedroom, where she promptly collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.


End file.
